Through the Mirror of Erised
by NeonDomino
Summary: Hermione and Ginny are in a world where the rest of the order have fallen. They've been taken prisoner by Voldemort, but they find hope in the Mirror of Erised, which transports them to an almost identical world, where they find a young Remus Lupin, and attempt to free Sirius, and start new lives. Hermione and Ginny aim to change this worlds future. RL/HG and SB/GW
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - I own nothing.**

**Set in the Marauder Era. Hermione and Ginny find their way into another world, one very similar to theirs, but with slight differences.**

**Pairings: HG/RL and GW/SB**

**Thanks to my beta - Michy Drarry Shipper for agreeing to Beta yet another one of my stories :D**

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><p>Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley were the last ones left.<p>

The other members of the Order of the Phoenix were long dead. Harry Potter was dead. The Weasleys were all gone. Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, even the house elves. They were all gone. Taken down during battle, fighting in desperation for their lives, and to save the Wizarding World.

But Hermione and Ginny were kept alive. As they watched the members die, in front of their eyes, they were the only ones left standing. They waited for the curse that would end their lives, but were stunned instead, only to be taken to Voldemort.

Had they known about what would happen, that they would be the last two left alive, they would have turned their wands on each other at the same time. They should have talked about what they would do if they failed, but no-one wanted to think about that being a possibility.

If they had just had a moment to send a killing curse at each other, they wouldn't have spent the last couple of years being tortured by the Death Eaters.

The girls hadn't gone down easily, but Hermione blamed herself. Watching Remus get hit by the curse aimed at her, him dying at her feet, she had just wanted to drop to the floor and hold him, but she didn't, she couldn't. There had been Death Eaters all around them, and they had still had to fight. Remus had been the only one left standing with her and Ginny, and with just the two of them against nine Death Eaters, they had had no chance of winning.

For hours at a time, day after day, they experienced so many different forms of torture, designed to make them change sides, give up secrets or drive them slowly insane.

But there were no secrets to give up, they would rather die than change sides, and they feared that they were close to becoming insane. They lived on next to no sleep, tortured to the point of near death, and then healed and given potions, just so they could endure it and live through it all over again, hours later.

They hoped one day they might even be allowed to die, and both girls were living for that day to arrive. There was nothing left to fight for.

**...~oOo~...**

Voldemort sat on his throne and looked at the girls bound in chains and rags in front of him. The Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and everything the girls stood for, were all long gone, yet they refused to bow to him.

He had thought of every way to torture them, including binding them into a pensive, forcing them to watch the people they loved die over and over. That was his favourite form of torture, as he could watch the Order break, each member, every Professor at the school, until Harry died at his feet and Voldemort rose to power. He relived his greatest moments, and they relived their worst.

But what Voldemort didn't know was that each girl had their own memory that hurt them even more, the memory that their hearts ripped out and forced them to watch the men they loved die. They had lost everything in that battle, but that didn't mean they had much to live for that day.

"Mudblood and Blood Traitor, I have a gift for you both," he hissed at them, with an evil smile on his lips. "Bring them to the mirror," he ordered and a death eater grabbed them by the arms and forced them in front of the Mirror of Erised.

Voldemort's latest find.

"Look at yourselves," he ordered. "See what remains of you. Nothing. You are both nothing."

The girls stayed silent.

"Everything you see around you, everything you want or desire, right there in front of you, but you're both here alone. There is nobody left, nobody to come and save you. You'll stay here forever, until my Death Eaters are kind enough to kill you."

Voldemort's voice was full of glee as he told them this, and the girls didn't move. Their eyes stayed on the floor, not daring to look up at the mirror.

"And what you want – you'll never have it. Tell me, Mudblood, what do you see?"

Hermione refused to look at the mirror. She knew exactly what she'd see there. She knew that she would be punished later for this, but she couldn't bring herself to look into those amber eyes again. Behind her she heard Voldemort's angry tones

"Imperio."

Hermione and Ginny both looked into the mirror.

She saw her family and her friends, she saw the man she loved who dragged her away at the end of the battle, who died for her. She saw everything she once had. The imperio had been lifted, but neither could tear their eyes away.

"Tell me what you see!" Voldemort demanded, and Hermione kept her mouth shut and her eyes on the mirror.

Voldemort's newest form of torture. It showed the girls what they wanted, but could never have. He had found a way to break them even further, and from the looks on their faces, he knew the Mirror had been a brilliant idea.

"Crucio," Voldemort hissed, and Hermione's body shook with the overused curse. She managed to stay on her feet, but her legs threatened to give out from under her.

Ginny was asked the same, and endured the same torture, and when Voldemort stopped, she tried not to cling to Hermione.

There was only a moment for them to recover, before the pain from the next curse went through both their bodies, and they joined hands, holding on as best they could, hoping to gain the tiniest bit of comfort from each other at the faces of everyone they loved, and the pain shooting through them.

The curse was lifted and the girls looked into the mirror again, the familiar faces bringing them a slight bit of comfort.

"Make them tell me," Voldemort hissed, and a couple of Death Eaters stepped forward, yanking both girls back by their hair, and forcing Veritaserum down their throats.

"What do you see?" Voldemort hissed.

"I see everyone I love surrounding me. My family, Harry, Remus, Sirius, the rest of the Order and the Weasley family," Hermione replied, in a monotone.

"I see the same as Hermione," Ginny said, her voice sounding as lifeless as Hermione's did.

They watched the figures surrounding them, smiling sadly at them, and the images faded to show two of the Marauders. The ones they loved, the ones that had died right before their eyes. Sirius standing behind Ginny, and Remus behind Hermione, their arms over the girls. Hermione wished with all her heart that she could feel that arm around her. Their faces looked destroyed as they looked at the girls.

Slowly Remus and Sirius de-aged, until they were in their 20's, and the girls stared at the handsome men standing before them. Remus reached out a hand, as though offering it to Hermione, and she gave in to the urge to touch that hand.

Voldemort's joyful, cruel laugh sounded behind her, but she didn't care anymore. She reached her hand out to the glass to touch Remus' and her fingers went through slightly, and she felt a tugging sensation, similar to the feeling of apparition.

She pulled back slowly, not wanting to draw attention to herself. Her gaze moved up to Ginny's through the mirror, who's eyes had gone wide, as she had seen what had happened.

"Touch his hand, Ginny," she whispered as quietly as possible. "On three."

She squeezed Ginny's hand three times.

Hermione let out a whimper, hope filling her for the first time in years, and she touched the glass again, Ginny doing the same. Ginny squeezed Hermione's hand as they pushed their hands through and let their bodies follow, the sounds of Voldemort screaming for someone to grab them following, and the sound of curses, narrowly missing them.

They hit the ground in agony.

"Are we free?" Ginny sobbed, clutching Hermione's arm and Hermione looked around and her gaze fell on a man sitting at a desk.

A familiar man.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione said, shocked.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer - I own nothing.**

**Thanks for all the reviews for the first chapter. I was quite surprised as to how many people reviewed (not that I'm complaining, in fact I love reading the reviews)**

**Thanks to my Beta - Michy Drarry Shipper who is brilliant by the way.**

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

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><p>"Headmaster, there's got to be something, I mean, can you get me in to see him, if I could just ask him..."<p>

"No, I can't, Remus, I'm sorry," Dumbledore replied.

Remus closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, before looking back at Dumbledore.

"As you know, I've been speaking with all the packs. None of the ones that have been in contact with Death Eaters, have any knowledge of Sirius Black being one, and I know that he would never..." Remus said, trailing off.

"Remus, I'm sorry, but Sirius was the secret keeper. Everything so far just shows that he killed Peter and the muggles, there were witnesses."

"Maybe he was under Imperius?" Remus tried.

"You said you didn't notice anything off about him, you can't claim to have noticed anything now, three years later."

"But, Headmaster, I can't leave him in there, we've got to think of something..."

"Remus, I've been speaking to all my contacts, do you think I'd leave him in there if I had any other choice? Have you considered for one moment that he might have actually done it?"

Remus glared at the headmaster. "He would never do it," he growled, his usually hazel eyes glowing amber. "I will keep looking for a way to prove his innocence, with or without your help."

He spun around, to leave the room, and heard a voice behind him. "However, I will keep looking for an answer. I still have doubts too. I never would have believed Sirius would have been able to do that."

Remus nodded, and started walking towards the door. He was sick to death of no-one except his parents taking him seriously. His parents believed that Sirius was innocent, but what could they do? He was sick of being almost all alone in his belief and in his life in general. He just wanted his friend back, he would do anything to have Sirius back, anything to not be alone anymore, to just have a friend.

The sight of a mirror in the corner drew his attention. There was light beaming from it and his steps faltered. Where the angle of the mirror should have shown the door, instead it looked as though it was reflecting another room entirely.

"Sir, what is that mirror?" he asked, his anger disappearing with his curiousity.

"That, Remus, is the Mirror of Erised. It shows you what you desire."

Remus nodded, having read about the mirror. "What about the light?"

"Light?"

"It's glowing, there's a light coming from it. Do you not see?"

"No I don't. However, this has happened before. Can you tell me what you see in the mirror?" Dumbledore's voice sounded urgent.

Remus stepped towards it, and what he saw made him take a step back.

"There's a man, he's laughing. Some girls..."

Remus moved forward. He could make out his reflection in the mirror, the broken girl, the beautiful girl who had tremors running through her body looked from the mirror, straight into his eyes.

"Someone's hurting her," Remus said, angrily, moving closer until he was able to reach out and touch the girl. She reached out for him too. "She can see me..."

In the mirror, standing next to him, was Sirius Black.

He shook his head, trying to understand. He could see two girls, one looked at him as though she had seen a ghost, the other was looking at the spot where Sirius should be, but he wasn't there. He wasn't actually in the same place the girls were, it was as though he was a ghost on both sides of the mirror.

Remus' hands touched the mirror, meeting the first girl's hand, and he felt fingers brush his, before the girl pulled her hand back, her eyes going wide.

"I felt her hand," he whispered, "and she felt mine."

"It's because she's really there, in another world," Dumbledore said. "She can come through, but only you can bring her through."

Remus reached both his hands out, as the girls did the same, and their fingers met his and this time he was prepared. He grabbed their hands, and pulled hard, stumbling backwards as the girls had the same idea, throwing themselves forward at the same moment.

As their bodies hit the floor, he let go and moved backwards, shocked at what he had just done.

"Are we free?" The redhead said, tears streaming down her face, as the she grabbed the other girls arm.

They looked over at the Headmasters desk.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

Remus realised his manners and he reached out his hands, offering to help the girls up.

They both looked at him for a moment, and he went to withdraw his hands, used to the fact that people didn't like to touch him, until the brunette, the one who had reached for him first, spoke.

"Remus?" she whispered, and the redhead looked shocked.

She reached out and allowed him to help her from the floor, and he reached to help the redhead up.

The brunette stepped over to him and he moved back, away.

"What happened to you, Remus? You look so..." The girl shook her head, and looked into his eyes.

She reached her hand out. He flinched and she pulled it back quickly.

"Did we time travel?" The redhead asked, looking towards the headmaster, and the brunette moved her gaze away from Remus.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Ladies, to be short, the Mirror has brought you from another world to ours, which I will explain later. But I think we need to get you to the hospital wing, now. Remus, please get Minerva and meet us there."

Remus nodded, and quickly pulled off his cloak, handing it to the redhead, and next took off his jumper, leaving him in an old t-shirt, he handed the jumper to the brunette, who pulled it on. It fell to her knees, but at least she was covered.

"Thank you," they both said to him, and he nodded.

They had only been wearing rags that were filthy, and shaking, from fear or cold, he didn't know, but he could make one kind gesture.

"I'm Hermione and this is Ginny," the brunette said, before they slowly made their way across the room, glancing back at the mirror.

"Can you see him?" Hermione asked. "He's not happy to have lost us."

"Who is he?" Remus said, softly.

"That's Voldemort," Ginny said, and Remus' head whipped around.

"That's him? But that man can't be even human?"

"That's Voldemort from the future, or however this works – after he wins the war and takes over the world. He's not human, that's how he managed to return." Ginny told him.

"He returns? He wins?" Dumbledore asked, the twinkle in his eye absent, as he glanced in the direction of the mirror, but he wasn't able to see what the other three could. All that stared back was a young girl, waving at him.

"Yes, but we know how to stop him," Remus heard Hermione say, her lips curled in disgust as she glanced at the angry man in the mirror. Remus could see the hate in her eyes. They left the room.

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Sorry this chapter took so long. Hopefully I'm a bit more on track with my updates now. **

**I own nothing.**

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><p>Remus quickly rushed to get Minerva from her rooms. He told her briefly what had happened, not that he knew a lot himself, but stating that some girls had come through the Mirror of Erised was enough to have the Tartan-clad Professor following him swiftly through the halls towards the Hospital Wing.<p>

They arrived there moments after Dumbledore and the girls, who they saw being pushed towards some beds by Madame Pomfrey.

"Remus, you're a good healer, come here and help me," Madam Pomfrey ordered, drawing the curtain around Hermione after handing her a hospital robe, and waving her wand over Ginny, to assess the damage.

After a minute, Hermione pulled back the curtain slightly, to show she was changed, and Madam Pomfrey gave a robe to Ginny, shutting her curtains as she ran her wand over Ginny.

Once they were both changed, and she had checked them, she disappeared into the office to get some potions.

"Ladies, if you could tell me..."

"Albus, do you not see the state of these girls, I think now is not the time for questions," Minerva said, her eyes taking in the frail, beaten, half-starved girls in front of her.

"My dear Minerva, I was merely going to ask –"

"Enough, Headmaster. They've clearly been tortured with the Cruciatus curse, they're still shaking from the after effects," Poppy scolded him, leaving the office with an armful of potions.

"Poppy..."

"They look like death, they look worse than Remus ever has," she said angrily. Remus frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. He knew it was true.

Madam Pomfrey was forever coming to his house after the transformations and healing him and forcing him to eat. She wouldn't just allow him to lay on the floor of the Shack, (which Dumbledore still allowed him to use, setting the wards to the Shack so that only he could apparate straight in and out). Madam Pomfrey was the women who shouted at him to get off the floor and stop acting like his life is over, she wouldn't allow him to lay there and die like part of him wanted to. The part that was starting to realise that he couldn't do anything for Sirius, and that he'd forever be alone and friendless, and always considered to be a dark monster, no matter how light the man was, the Werewolf would always make him dark.

"Poppy, I understand, but I'm sure they have questions."

Poppy handed half the potions to Remus, and he brought them to Hermione and slowly started opening them, and getting her to drink them.

"I have an important question," Ginny stated. "How long has Sirius been in prison?"

Remus' eyes flicked up to meet hers. "How do you know about Sirius?" He demanded. "He didn't do anything, he's innocent, he wouldn't have –" Remus growled, his eyes flashing.

"Remus," Madame Pomfrey interrupted, scolding the man as though he were a child. "Don't take that tone with them, they've been through enough already. They only asked a question."

Both Hermione and Ginny smiled at him, which made him falter slightly. "We know he's innocent, and if this world is the same as ours, we know how to prove it too," Ginny said.

Remus' eyes flicked between the pair of them. "How?" he demanded, his heart beating faster. "You really can prove it?"

"We can't say right now," Hermione said softly. "I suggest we get into details tomorrow. It's been days since we last ate, we barely get to sleep and that's usually on the dungeon floor. It's nice to have beds to rest in."

Hermione watched Remus, torn between leaving them to rest, and asking about Sirius, and she sympathised with him.

"It'll be the first thing we discuss tomorrow," Hermione promised, "but please remember that this isn't our world, we haven't come from the future of this world, just the future of another. We might not be able to prove it in the same way we would back home, but we'll do our best. I promise. We'll tell you exactly what happened in our world, you just have to keep an open mind."

He watched her share a look with Ginny.

Remus nodded. "I've waited this long, what's one more day," he said.

"You slept on the dungeon floor?" Minerva asked, concern laced in her voice.

"It wasn't that bad, Draco would sneak in and cast cushioning charms on our part of the floor, but only if there wasn't any guards around," Ginny said.

Remus looked between the girls, wanting to trust them, but he struggled to do so. Trust in the wrong person, whoever that was, caused James and Lily's deaths and Sirius' imprisonment.

But these girls thought they could prove Sirius' innocence. Two girls that fought against Voldemort. They were Voldemort's prisoners, they weren't Death Eaters.

"Three years," he said, answering their earlier question. "Well, just off three years since he was put away."

"We're in... 1984?"

Remus nodded.

"We were in the year 2000 I think, we lost count of the days, but it was about 2 years since he won the war, and we were captured."

"Ladies, can I get your full names?" Dumbledore interrupted.

"I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Ginny Weasley."

"Ah, a relation to Arthur and Molly, their daughter perhaps?"

Ginny nodded. "Surely you would know that already, I should already be born here?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "After their sixth son, Ronald, Molly was told she couldn't have any more children. I believe that neither of you exist here, that's why you've been able to travel to this world."

Ginny looked saddened by the news.

"What about you, Miss Granger?"

"Muggleborn," she replied, glancing down at her arm. Remus followed her gaze and was appalled to see the word 'mudblood' carved several times into it.

Dumbledore looked down at her arm too, the twinkle in his eyes missing, and his eyes flicked to Ginny.

"Oh, don't look at me, mine aren't as bad. I was only a blood traitor after all, still a pureblood, so Voldemort didn't want to damage me too much, because I would be a wonderful wife for a Death Eater once I was broken enough to change sides."

"Did you ever consider it?" Remus whispered, wondering how the girls were so strong.

Ginny shook her head. "I'd go from one torture to the other. If I had gone over to the other side, I'd be married to some sadistic Death Eater that would rape me and torture me. I would never become one of them," she spat, disgusted at the very notion that it could happen.

Remus' eyes turned to Hermione.

"If I gave in, Voldemort would have won. Everyone still fighting him, the few groups left out there, they would give up."

"Why? How were you so important?" Remus asked, curiously.

"Because I know how to kill Voldemort," Hermione said. "I know how to get rid of him in a way to stop him returning. We failed last time, but now we have years before he will return. Once we start making changes here, we could start a chain effect and he could come back at any time, so we'll work out a plan for that, so he'll never come back."

"How do you know? You make it sound like you were the only one who knew?"

Hermione sighed. "Ginny knows, it's one of the things we discussed, in case one of us escaped, we would do our best to take him down. I found out because I was part of the Golden Trio, the Gryffindor Princess, Harry Potter's best friend," she said, bitterly. "For the most famous Muggleborn to stand beside Voldemort, would show that there was nothing left to fight for."

"Harry's best friend?" Remus said in shock, and Hermione nodded. "Ron Weasley and I were Harry's best friends, we would have died to save him, but he was the one to die, and the Order all slowly followed, even you, Remus. Yours was the last death I saw before we were captured. You died for the cause, loyal until your last breath. Not once did your loyalty to the Order, to Harry, to me, to any of us falter."

Remus gave a small smile, glad that this strange girl had so much faith in him, and even if it was a different him, he knew that he would always be as loyal as the other Remus.

"Would they have married you off to a Death Eater too?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "I would have had it easier than Ginny. Draco informed us that I was to be given to him. I knew he wouldn't hurt me, well, unless ordered. He was my age and he was completely terrified. He was forced into being a Death Eater, his father wanted him to become one, and if he didn't... well, there were threats on his mother's life. He had no choice and he couldn't get free from them... But I had no intention of giving up. I was ready to die before giving up," Hermione said, and Remus could see in her eyes that she wasn't lying.

"I think the girls need some rest now, I'd like everyone out," Madam Pomfrey ordered.

"Girls, tomorrow come to breakfast, and then we'll have a meeting and discuss the Mirror in more detail," Dumbledore said, before he, Minerva and Remus turned to leave.

"Headmaster, Remus, Professor McGonagall," Hermione called, and they all turned around.

"Please don't utter a word of this outside this room to anyone, because we don't want anyone to know who we are, where we're from, or about Sirius, until we've made plans."

The three nodded in agreement, promising not speak to anyone about it, and left to head back to the rooms they were previously in.

Once back inside Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore looked back at Remus.

"Remus, please return here for breakfast in the morning, and bring your parents."

Remus nodded, and stepped into the Floo to head back to his parents' house.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Right, I know Remus seemed OOC in the last chapter. I would assume that the fact that he has anger issues can seem OOC for some readers.**

**Remember that the years between the Potters deaths, and him teaching in Harry's third year are unknown.**

**I just imagine him having had it tough. He just lost all his friends so quickly. Apart from his parents, he doesn't really have anyone, and he's desperate to at least prove Sirius' innocence. I just see him as being less in control than he's ever been, that means losing his temper, and being quiet and withdrawn. Maybe even depressed. He may snap sometimes, and push people away, but he's still our lovely Remus inside.**

**I do see why some people might not agree with it, and if you don't, I can totally understand. Everyone has their own image of what Remus was like during these years. He will become our Remus again, so just give the story a chance :)**

**With Hermione and Ginny, they've just suffered for two years, they would be think and ill looking, but they are eager to start changing everything.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**I own nothing.**

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><p>The next morning, Remus was seated in the Great Hall at a table placed in the middle of the room. He was reminded of the holidays he spent at school, whilst his parents were away searching for a cure. He frowned, as he remembered how Sirius, James and sometimes Peter would stay too, and he'd have his friends to celebrate Christmas with. Today he found himself sitting alone. Never again would the four of them be together, but maybe, just maybe him and Sirius could be. He would have one of his friends back. He wouldn't have to be alone anymore.<p>

He looked around the hall. The last time he had been there was when he attended Hogwarts. He hadn't returned, except to Dumbledore's office to beg him for help with Sirius. He had never entered any other parts of the castle either, he had no reason to, and he knew that it would just further remind him how alone he truly was. It felt strange being in the Great Hall again, it brought back so many memories. He could almost hear the noise of the students, and almost picture their table with his friends around it.

He snapped out of his daydream, as he heard the doors open, and watched the girls walk in. The brunette - Hermione, he thought to himself, took the seat next to him, and Ginny sitting one seat further down. Both girls were dressed in white school shirts and trousers, with sweaters which bore the Gryffindor house crest on them.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, not quite sure what else to say, and they nodded.

"It was the best sleep we've had in over two years," Ginny replied.

"Three for me," Hermione added. They both smiled politely at him, and he tried to return the smile. He could see by their faces that they were exhausted and wondered if they really did sleep.

"When was the last time you ate?" he asked, after a couple of minutes silence, having noticed the way their clothes hung from their bodies.

"You mean before last night?" Hermione asked. "Well, two days before that, we were snuck some food, but that was barely anything. Before that, it had been a few days."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Was that a regular occurrence?"

"Being starved? Yes, they fed us just enough to keep us alive, no more," Ginny replied, her voice struggling to remain steady.

"For the whole two years?" Remus asked, appalled.

"For me it was two, for Hermione, longer," Ginny answered.

"Yeah, we were on the run for a year, me, Ron and Harry had to be very careful, we didn't have much gold with us, and I wasn't going to take advantage and start stealing things. What about you, when was the last time you ate?" Hermione asked Remus.

Remus stared at her. "I eat," he answered, a stony expression covering his face.

"I don't believe that," she responded. "I can see it all in your face, Remus. You're thin - too thin. I know for a fact that you're blaming it on your transformations, but we both know that the transformations have never caused that. You also are lacking sleep, and you're clearly pushing yourself, I can see it on your face. You seem to have a temper, which Sirius or anyone else has never mentioned. In fact, you were always the opposite. I don't like seeing you like this," Hermione stated, calmly.

"Well, it's not your concern," he snapped, and narrowed his eyes at her smile.

"You say that, but I'm making it my concern. Just because you push everyone else away, it doesn't mean I'm going anywhere. You mean a lot to me in the future... or my world or whatever, and I don't have much intention of leaving."

"Don't pretend to know me, I might be nothing like your Remus," he snarled.

"I won't pretend to know this version of you, because the you I know is from my world, an older you who was even more broken. But still we stuck with him, being his friend, hoping to fix him as the world just got harder and harder. I didn't know him until he was my Professor at Hogwarts, therefore I have no idea what he was like at this age. My Remus died to save my life, and I'm going to save yours, starting with a potion to make your transformations easier... and as for you being nothing like our Remus - I can't picture a world where Remus Lupin isn't loyal, kind and brave."

Remus took a moment to collect his thoughts. He wasn't used to people having anything nice to say about him, well... not used to strangers saying these things. His parents, the Headmaster, McGonagall, Poppy, they were always kind, but the majority of people were cruel.

"My... transformations? How do you know?" He finally queried.

"I know everything, Moony. I've known since I was thirteen. We didn't care then, and we don't care now. Please learn to keep a hold on your temper, and I'll make the potion. It won't stop the transformations, but the pain won't be so bad, and you'll be able to keep your mind during them."

Remus looked at her, his eyes wide and the guarded look slipping from his face. Hermione could see her Remus underneath, his eyes full of hope. He struggled to put the mask back in place.

"I'm sorry about my temper, I'm not usually like this," he said, his voice going slightly softer, and she smiled at him. "I just have trouble pulling the wolf in."

Hermione nodded. "It's understandable, I mean it has been a tough few years for you, I imagine. You've had to somehow make it in the real world, and the only thing that was keeping you going was your friends. I'm positive in my world you said that you lived with Sirius, so you've lost everything, I don't like seeing you so hurt, I want to help fix this world, make things right. I want to give you back as much as possible. I can't give you James, or Lily, but I can get you Sirius. I can make your life bearable again. I swear I'll do everything I can to help you."

"You don't have to -" Remus began.

"But I want to," Hermione interrupted. You died for me in my world, and I can just tell that you are the same man, only younger. You haven't gone through the hardships he has, and with Sirius free, you won't have to."

Remus thought about her words. He wanted to trust her, to believe that she was telling the truth, that she could change things, but could he trust someone else? If he trusted her and accepted the friendship she was so willingly offering, could he risk that he would lose her too? It wasn't good for him to have new friends, he thought, thinking about how rare it was for someone to willingly become friends with a werewolf, as he watched the doors open.

When he spotted who had come in, he jumped up and quickly walked over, helping to support the frail and ill woman, who was leaning heavily on the man accompanying her.

"Mum, Dad," he greeted, kissing his Mum on the cheek, and walking her to her seat. "Did you go up and speak with Dumbledore?"

"Yes, he explained about the mirror, and how you saved these girls lives. I'm very proud of you," his mother replied, her voice soft, as smiling at her son. She took the seat facing Hermione, and John sat facing Remus.

"I would normally give you both a hug, but I'm quite worn out from the journey," Hope said, smiling at the girls. "I'm Hope, and this is my husband John."

"It's lovely to meet you," Hermione and Ginny both replied, before introducing themselves.

Hope turned her attention to her handbag, searching for her potions.

"If you don't mind me asking..." Hermione whispered to Remus.

"Dragon Pox," Remus mumbled.

Hermione nudged Ginny to get her attention, before turning back to Remus. "Do you know the cure that is around now was improved by Dumbledore in the future?" She said, quietly. "It just so happens that Ginny knows how to make it up as she was training with Madam Pomfrey to become a Healer. It's not one-hundred percent effective, but it has a eighty-nine Percent success rate, over the fifty-two Percent that this one has."

"Fifty-one, actually," Remus mumbled, correcting her before his eyes shot to hers. "Wait, eighty-nine?"

Remus stared at her, not sure whether to believe her. He wanted her to be telling the truth more than anything.

"Can you get us into the potions lab today? I know you don't trust us, but I'm sure we can earn your trust. We'll free Sirius, we'll provide your mum with a more effective cure, and I'll get you the potion to help ease your transformations. There isn't a cure for you, Remus, but imagine transforming and still being Remus inside your head, instead of Moony?"

"It... would be great," Remus admitted, his voice soft, and Hermione found that he sounded more like her own Remus, his voice was soft like his, rather than with the hard edge she had heard since the previous day.

Hope started to bubble inside him. "You're setting yourself up to exhaust yourself though. I don't think that would be good to your recovery, so maybe once you free Sirius, and help my mum, you should rest a bit, my transformation potion can wait until you've recovered, and I'd like to help with it."

"You can help, but right now I have another chance to fix things. I can't just sit back now, we have so much to do first. Two years ago I watched all my friends die, my best friends were killed, and the man I love. I spent two years not being allowed to die, because there was certainly nothing to live for. Now I have the chance to save them all, to bring Sirius back from Azkaban, to save you, Harry, Ron, everyone really. I can stop Voldemort before he goes after Harry at eleven years old, so Harry can have a more normal childhood. I need Sirius free so he can take Harry away from the Dursleys, those foul evil people... the bruises he used to come to school with, I used to be the one to heal him and fix his glasses, and -"

"Bruises?" Remus whispered.

"Yes, I think we might have a few years before it starts, but we can't take Harry away from there until the threat of Voldemort and the Death Eaters is completely gone. We can, however, scare the shit out of the Dursleys."

Remus smirked. Scaring the Dursleys sounded like a lot of fun. He thought back to the way Hermione spoke about Harry, the softness of her voice as he was mentioned. "In your world, were you and Harry..." he asked, curiously.

Hermione shook her head. "Together? No of course not. Harry and Ron were my best friends, they were like brothers to me, nothing more. They saved me from a fully grown troll in our first year, and that was the least of what we've been through together. We've broken into the Ministry twice, and even broken into Gringotts disguised as Bellatrix Lestrange..." Hermione frowned at the memory, and her hand went to her arm and she started scratching at it, hard.

Remus watched her for a moment, before remembering the word he saw carved into her arm the previous evening. He reached out to stop her, but Ginny's hand was already on her arm, pulling it away.

"What I'm saying is that I need to fix all this. We can fix this world, and I don't want to sit around whilst I can make changes. Sirius is priority, he's innocent. We'll free him today, and do something about your mum."

Although they had been talking softly and quietly, John and Hope had caught most of the conversation. They might not have seemed like they were listening, but they were paying close attention to what was happening.

"I just want to point out there is still a chance that the cure might not work, but it's more likely to work than the one she would be taking now."

"I understand that, even if it were a one Percent chance, it would be something," he replied, softly.

They shared a quick look before they heard the doors open again, and watched Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall and the Weasleys walk in. The group approached the table and quickly sat down. The Weasleys stared at Ginny in shock.

"I've explained the circumstances of the mirror bringing you here," Dumbledore said. "Arthur, Molly, this is Ginevra. If you had a daughter in this world, this is who she would have become."

"It's Ginny for short," Ginny said, staring at the younger version of her parents.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I have had someone fall through the mirror before, causing me to research it. The Mirror has allowed Hermione and Ginny through, and they can remain here, as long as they can tie themselves to this world."

"How does that happen, Albus?" John asked, looking at the girl who was sneaking glances at his oblivious son, and the other girl who were staring at the couple next to him.

"They both saw the person who would tie them to the world. One of them was Remus, and the other was Sirius. Both Remus and Sirius would need to be around the girls, to help them fix into this world. Remus might be able to help both, since he pulled them both through, but eventually, Ginny will need Sirius around her."

"What happens if they don't?" Hope whispered.

"The girls will fade from this world, and return to their own."

Remus looked up. "They can't go back, they were in chains, I saw Hermione get tortured. Voldemort wins the war. I'll do what I can to help," he said urgently. He may not trust the girls yet, but there was no way he was going to return them to Voldemort and let them suffer anymore. Even if they weren't able to free Sirius, or come up with the promised potions, he would still not allow them to return to their world.

Dumbledore nodded. "Of course we don't want them to return," he said. "But that is down to you, and when Sirius has been freed, down to him too."

"Sirius would help too, I'm sure of it," Remus added.

"The girls can take our guest room," Hope said. "That way they will be near Remus, and you mentioned they will free Sirius? Well, Sirius can share Remus' room."

"Thank you Mrs Lupin," Ginny said, and Hermione repeated the same words, Hope and John smiled at the tired looking girls.

"Ladies, can you tell us what proof you have of Sirius' innocence?"

Hermione nodded. "Professor, you can look inside my head, I'll let my walls down. I'll show you exactly what happened the day we found out."

He stared at her, and his eyes widened as she pushed the memory of the Shrieking Shack to the front of her mind, and the comments about how Scabbers had been in Ron's family for years.

He pulled away.

Remus had never seen the headmaster look shocked before, clearly the Weasleys and Lupins hadn't either, judging by their expressions.

"That would be more than enough to free Sirius, certainly," Dumbledore told the girls, before turning to the Weasleys. "Molly, Arthur, after breakfast I would like your help on something. It's not dangerous, but you'll be helping free an innocent man from Azkaban. When we leave here, not a word is to be uttered about Sirius, it could affect everything. Especially when we reach your home."

The couple nodded, completely confused.

"I will speak to Fudge and see what he will do about a trial soon," Dumbledore added.

"Today," Ginny insisted. "We both know your influence over Fudge, and we need Sirius free, because we only want to tell our story once, and that would require the Order, including Kingsley Shaklebolt and the Weasleys, who were only part of the second Order."

Dumbledore watched them for a moment. "Understood, I'll get a trial today, after I collect the proof that Sirius is innocent."

"What did you show him?" Remus asked, unable to wait any longer.

"We're sorry, we can't tell you, you honestly won't believe us," Ginny said.

"You'll find out later, and when the Order is together, I'll show you the same memory I just showed the Headmaster."

Remus frowned, but didn't reply.

"Before I forget, we had these cleaned for you," Ginny interrupted, holding up a package, and she passed it to Hermione, who gave it to Remus.

"It's your robe and jumper from yesterday. The state we were in, we thought it best we put them into the laundry. It was really nice of you to let us wear them."

"Remus is very well-mannered, that's how we raised him," John said, from the other side of the table, and Hermione smiled at him.

"I know, I remember Remus from our world."

"Was your Remus the same as ours?" Hope asked, and Hermione nodded slightly.

"Our Remus was our former Professor at Hogwarts and a valuable member of the Order. He stopped Ginny from going through the veil after Sirius at the Ministry when we broke in, which saved her life, and he got us away from the final battle when everyone else had died. There were eight of us left, and in the end he died to save me."

The Lupin's stared at her for a moment, as she struggled to get her words together.

"He was so broken, though he hid it very well. I suspect he would have completely given up on life if it wasn't for getting Sirius back, and helping Harry, he dealt with the prejudice and ignored how all the fools looked at him. He was a brilliant man. He just wouldn't allow himself anything in life that could make him happy."

Hope watched her, and the way she looked at Remus. "How much older was Remus?" She asked.

"Twenty years," Hermione whispered. She shared a look with Ginny that the rest of the table didn't understand.

As John went to ask her another question, the food appeared on the table distracting everyone.

Remus looked at the girl next to him, the way she spoke about the other him, as though he was a very important man, when he was just a werewolf, alone, uncared for, unloved. But he found everything that had happened from the moment they arrived, had eased his anger somewhat, and he felt more himself than he had in so long. The thought that his mother being cured, Sirius being freed, and himself having easier transformations made his head spin.

"I'll fix up the guest room tonight for you both," he said, serving some food onto his plate. It was the least he could do. "If there's anything you need, let me know."

Hermione beamed at him and he gave an unsure smile back. He took in her face. She was pale, gaunt. It was clear she hadn't eaten properly in a long time, and her body was shaking slightly. But none of that hid how beautiful she was, and he could see the hope that he was feeling, mirrored in her eyes.

He turned away, piling food onto his plate, and watched as her hand shook as she tried to serve something up for herself.

He looked at Ginny, who was looking quite shaky too. He took Ginny's plate, swapping it with his own, and then quickly filling Hermione's before filling the empty plate in front of him. He done the same with the drinks.

"When was the last time you had regular meals?" Molly asked Ginny.

"For me, it was probably the day before the final battle, so over two years ago. For Hermione, it was..."

"Over three years. We were on the run, trying to find a way to stop Voldemort, and there wasn't much food available to us," Hermione said, her hands shaking slightly as she started to eat.

The rest of the meal went in silence. Remus had never seen anyone eat as fast as they did, it was clear the girls were starved.

Finally they stopped eating, and they looked exhausted.

"Did you get any sleep?" Arthur asked, and the girls nodded. "It's the first proper sleep we've had in two years," Ginny said, smiling at him. The four parents on the side of the table looked at the girls sadly. Hope and Molly were already making plans in their heads to help the pair of them.

Once the food was cleared, Dumbledore stood up.

"Hope, John, if you wait here for my return, we'll all go to the Ministry together."

Madam Pomfrey jumped in quickly, her face full of disapproval. "Ladies, your health isn't good enough for you to leave the castle yet, you shouldn't even be down here, but I relented because of this meeting, but you need to return afterwards."

Hermione shook her head. "Thank you for your concern, Madam Pomfrey, but we're not going to lay around the hospital wing. We'll follow your orders and be careful, we'll eat, we'll take the necessary potions, but we're not going to sit around."

Madam Pomfrey opened her mouth to argue.

"All we'll be doing is watching Sirius' trial, and then returning back here to the castle," Ginny informed her, and she reluctantly nodded, before returning to the hospital wing.

**...oOo...**

Remus followed the girls down to the Potions room, where he took down the wards on their request. They walked in, and Remus helped them with the armfuls of ingrediants they were bringing from the potions storeroom.

"What do you need me to do?" Remus asked.

Hermione shook her head. "You're best off helping Ginny, her potion isn't as complicated, and I've heard all about your potions skills," she teased.

Remus felt a smile pull at his lips. "I'll have you know that I make up for that in other areas," he replied, with a wink, and Hermione let out a slight laugh, before turning back to her cauldron. Remus couldn't believe that he had just attempted to flirt with the girl. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that whatever the Headmaster had seen confirmed there was proof that Sirius was innocent, or maybe that Dumbledore himself was collecting that evidence, or even that they were making potions to help both him and his mother.

All he knew was that the darkness that had dragged him down, had lightened significantly and he felt so hopeful. He felt like today was the start of a new part of his life. A happier part.

An hour later, they stepped back from the potions, Ginny had set hers to boil a little while before, and helped Hermione.

Remus looked at the bubbling sludge, and pulled a face. "It smells awful," he said.

"Tastes worse."

"Can't you make it taste good?" He asked.

Ginny shook her head. "Can't add anything, sorry," she said, "you were the one who told us that."

"Remus, can you set wards around these cauldrons and then on the doors?"

Remus nodded, and started to do the wards, before leading the girls back to the Great Hall.

The Lupins looked up from their seats when the three came back in.

"Where did you get off to?" John asked his son.

"Hermione knows about a potion that'll help ease the transformation. It should help me keep my own mind, even though I'll still become a wolf," he said.

"It'll take a week to make though," Hermione added.

The Lupins looked at each other sadly. "So there isn't a cure in your time?"

Ginny shook her head.

"I would suggest before you waste money on something that might seem as though it would help, to come to me first. The other Remus told me everything you tried, and I can tell you if you've done it before, so you know not to waste your time and money on something that will become a dead end."

The Lupin's nodded. "At least the potion is around. When was it invented?"

"I believe it was in 1988," Hermione replied after a moment.

John was about to ask for more information about the potion, when a Phoenix Patronus appeared, asking the group to head to the Ministry for Sirius' trial.

John stood, and helped his wife up, and walked to Dumbledore's office, Remus walking in front.

"Remus, could you do us a favour?" Ginny asked, and he nodded.

"We'd look a bit odd in the school uniforms, could you transfigure these into something more suitable - jeans and t-shirts perhaps?"

Remus nodded and focused, and after a minute, Ginny was in some loose jeans and a white t-shirt. After a glance at her arm, he lengthened the sleeves, and turned to Hermione.

"Just... not bellbottoms," she requested. "What about some tight jeans, boots and a plain black top?"

With a quick flick of his wand, her outfit was just that. She took a step and wobbled on the heels.

"Oh, sorry," he said, waving it again, turning her boots into flat boots. She grinned. "This is more like it," she smiled.

The Lupin's caught up, and Hope smiled at the girls. "You both look very nice, now lets go get Sirius."

They made their way up to the office, and to the fireplace. Within minutes they were all standing in the Ministry, where Molly rushed over, looking pale.

"I'll take you to the room, we've been here ages as Dumbledore talked the Minister into giving Sirius Black a trial. I just can't believe it - in my home too!"

They went downstairs in silence, and were led to the room just in time, as Hermione could feel her happiness fade away. She quickly moved to the seats with the best view, and started shaking. Remus took a seat, and the girls sat either side of him.

The Lupins and Molly took the seats behind, Arthur following in soon afterwards.

After a moment, Remus felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned to look back at his mum, who was nodding her head at the girls. He turned to look at them, to see they were shaking more than at breakfast, as the Dementors were coming in. Hermione's head was bowed, and he done the only thing he could think of.

He pulled out a bar of chocolate and broke large chunks off, giving bits to the girls. "Eat it, it'll help," he said, softly, and Hermione let out a giggle. He looked confused. "It's not the first time I've heard you say that," she explained, with a smile. He nervously returned the smile, and looked back at the couple of Dementors entering the chamber.

Hermione let out a small whimper, and Remus carefully took one of each of their hands in his own.

After a moment, flanked by two Aurors, Sirius Black was led into the court room.

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><p><strong>Review please :)<strong>

**Remember, the girls have just been tortured and starved for two years, after watching their friends die and losing the war. I just see that they aren't the strong Ginny and Hermione that we know, but they want to be. They are going to need to recover, and get to know the new Remus, and stuff. They'll be themselves once they recover.**

**Also they don't want to sit around and do nothing, they spent two years locked up, they want to be back doing something, preferably something to do with magic. They don't have their wands (obviously they'd need new ones since Voldemort would have rid them of their wands two years ago), and I think that making the potions as they wait on news about Sirius would be realistic... Right?**

**Hopefully the next part of the story won't take so long to update :)**

**Also, I think this could have gone a lot better. I've been working on this since the day of the last update and this is the best I can do for this chapter. The rest will go a lot smoother, so give this a chance :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the delay in chapters on this. I found this one hard to write.**

**Hopefully you enjoy it.**

**I own nothing.**

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><p>Sirius was led to the seat, and the Minister waved his hand to have him chained up.<p>

"Trust me, Minister, he isn't going to run out on his own trial," Dumbledore stated.

Fudge stared at Dumbledore for a moment, before returning his gaze to Sirius Black. The man didn't even seem to be aware that he had left his cell, his eyes were blank. There were also a few Aurors in the room, and everyone had their wands to restrain him before he could do anything. He wasn't a danger.

There was no way Sirius Black could escape.

Fudge nodded his head. "He can stay unchained as long as he remains in the seat," he agreed.

Sirius' head was bent low, as though he wasn't entirely aware of where he was, that was until the start of the trial was announced. He slowly lifted his head up, and he glanced around, taking in his surroundings, as though he had just realized that he was out of his cell. His dark eyes moved around the room, and fell on Remus, who was sitting with his parents and a red-headed women who looked vaguely familiar, and a couple of girls.

He stared at Remus in confusion, trying to work out if he was really there. He didn't dare blink in case Remus disappeared again, like all the other times he had seen his friends, back in his cell, or when he was forced by the Dementors to relive the bad memories. Memories which included driving Remus away, accusing him of being the spy, and turning up at the house to find his friends bodies, and Peter causing the explosion and leading to him being taken away.

Remus gave a small wave and a smile, and Sirius' eyes lost some of the blank stare. Remus was really there, and seemed to not hate him. Did Remus believe he was innocent? Sirius sat up slightly, feeling more determined. He registered where he was. It was his trial. He was being given a trial. His eyes landed on Dumbledore, who looked calm and collected, and was that a twinkle in his eye? Wait, did Dumbledore just wink at him?

Could it be possible that someone found out the truth? It had been... two years? Maybe three or four even. There was no way of keeping track in a place like Azkaban. He just tried to keep count of how many nights he saw through that little sliver of a window. He lost track so many times.

"Mr Lupin, would you start by giving a statement on Sirius Black?" Dumbledore requested, and Sirius turned back to look at him again. He watched the two girls squeeze Remus' hands, and Hope's hand touch his shoulder as he stood up, and made his way to the front.

Remus walked past Sirius, resting his hand on Sirius' shoulder for a moment. Sirius felt warm on his shoulder. All those years in prison without any contact, just alone, with the darkness and the fear, and his happy memories being sucked from him slowly, leaving him wishing for his own death to join his friends. But that small gesture from his only remaining best friend made him feel stronger.

They had always felt stronger and safer in Remus' presence. It could be because of the Wolf, as it was the leader of their pack, it brought comfort to be close to him. Now they were a pack of two. Sirius would be happy with that, he would be happy with anything. He wouldn't care if he had to live on the streets, and kill mice and rats for food, as long as it gained him his freedom.

"Mr Lupin, please tell me, do you think Sirius Black was capable of doing what he was accused of?" Dumbledore began.

Sirius' eyes met Remus' again. Remus was everything he had left. His only brother, his only friend. His words meant more than anything right now, well... more than anything except the outcome of the trial. The words Remus Lupin said at this moment were amongst some of the most important words to him - to show that at least one person cared about him.

Remus shook his head. "Of course not. He would never have betrayed James and Lily Potter. He's the most loyal friend anyone could ever have, he would do anything for his friends, and protect them in any way possible. Sirius and James were like brothers. I believe he would have died for James rather than turn James over to Voldemort. He would never turn them over of his own free will. As for Peter and the muggles, well, he would never kill Peter, or any muggles. Sirius isn't a murderer."

Sirius felt the corners of his mouth curve upwards slightly.

There were a few other questions that Remus was asked, before he was allowed to take his seat. As he passed Sirius, his hand rested briefly on his friends shoulder again, before he took his seat between the two girls.

Sirius felt lighter. Remus believed in him. Someone had faith in him. He had thought that no-one would think him innocent, although anyone who thought he'd betray James would have to be insane. Unless people thought he was insane. Maybe they thought he was like his family?

Remus didn't. Remus believed in him. Remus' parents were there, Dumbledore was helping him.

He could see the women who he now realized was Molly Weasley, sister to the Prewitt brothers, old friends of his from school, who smiled at him. The two girls with Remus were smiling too. They must be friends of Remus'. He was glad that Remus wasn't alone, he had been so worried. He knew Remus would struggle without them, but thankfully it looked like he hadn't as much as Sirius had thought.

"Albus, this is an opinion of one individual. We can't take that as proof," the Minister explained. Do you have any other evidence to clear Mr Black's name?"

"I'm sure I can give you a statement on the character of Sirius Black, or anyone sitting with Mr Lupin will also be willing to do so, but there is one person who's appearance matters the most."

Albus' gaze shifted to Hermione and Ginny, and they grinned at him.

"And here comes Sirius' freedom," Ginny whispered, excitedly. Remus felt the anticipation build up inside him, and he struggled to control his breathing.

"I'd like to call Peter Pettigrew to the stand," Dumbledore said, and Remus looked at Hermione, his eyes wide.

Sirius started laughing. They found Peter. Peter was there, and freedom was so close he could taste it.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it? You found out last time through the Marauders Map when you were our Professor," Hermione whispered. Remus moved closer to get a better look, as Arthur brought a cage through. It couldn't be true, could it? Peter was dead. But as the cage went past him, he could smell Peter, he knew without a doubt that the rat was the friend he thought dead. He couldn't mistake the smell of a pack member.

All this time - he had mourned for Peter, but Peter was alive. Peter was hiding. Why?

The rat was taken from the cage. It had been stunned before arriving at the ministry. Arthur placed the rat on the floor, and took a few steps back, his wand trained on the rat in case it woke up. Dumbledore waved his wand, making the rat turn into a man.

Everyone stared in shock for a moment, before they all started whispering to each other.

"Silence," demanded Fudge, his eyes on the man. He looked at Dumbledore.

"I believe you'll want this one chained, Minister," Dumbledore said.

Fudge looked over at Alistair Moody. "Chain him up please, Auror Moody."

A couple of minutes later, Peter regained consciousness, and he looked around to find himself in the middle of a trial. It took seconds to realise that it was Sirius'. He tried to transform, but wasn't able to, nor was he able to move. Seconds later, some liquid was forced into his mouth.

"State your name," Dumbledore said.

"Peter Pettigrew," Peter answered. He knew what the liquid was now. It was Veritaserum. He hadn't meant to answer the question.

"Can you tell us who was the secret keeper for Lily and James Potter and why?"

"I was chosen," he said, after a pause, as he tried to fight the words. "James and Sirius decided that Sirius would be the obvious choice, so they asked me instead."

"How did you fake your own death. Explain what happened when Sirius Black found you."

"I knew Sirius would be looking for me once the Potters were dead, as he was the only person who knew I was the Secret Keeper. I made sure we met in a public area. I accused him of betraying James and his family, and I caused an explosion, and used a slicing hex on my finger. I transformed into a rat, and escaped into the sewers in the commotion."

"You framed Sirius Black for betraying James and Lily Potter, and you framed him for your murder, and the murder of those muggles? Am I correct?"

"Yes I did," he said, after a slight struggle to hold the words back. The Veritaserum wouldn't allow him to remain silent.

Dumbledore stood back, and looked at Fudge.

"Sirius Black was accused of being a Death Eater, and for the murder of one wizard and thirteen muggles. The fact that the wizard is sitting here admitting to being the cause of all of these should be enough to prove Sirius' innocence and free him immediately."

Fudge stared at Peter in shock.

"What is your name?" Fudge asked, again.

"Peter Pettigrew," Peter stated, blankly.

Show me your arm," Fudge demanded, and Moody forced up Peter's sleeve, to reveal the Dark Mark.

"Where did you hide?" Fudge asked.

"He appeared at our home one day, and we kept him as a pet, assuming that he was just a rat, not a Animagus. He belonged to my son Percy, and I find it concerning as he slept in my sons bed, and was in the room as my son got dressed and undressed. I feel sick just thinking about it. That man is a pervert," Molly screeched, unable to stay silent much longer.

Everyone turned to look at Peter again, looking even more disgusted than they had been before Molly spoke.

It didn't take long for Sirius to be declared a free man, and for Peter to be sentenced life in Azkaban.

"As for the matter that Sirius Black was held for three years?" Dumbledore asked. "He lost his friends, he lost his apartment, all his belongings..."

"We will, of course award Sirius with a sum of gold as compensation," Fudge said, watching Peter being dragged from the room by the Aurors.

Sirius stared at Fudge in shock for ages. "Wait, I'm free?" he whispered, and Fudge nodded. "That's right, Mr Black. We're realising you to the care of John Lupin. I'll be back with the paperwork. Arthur, can you bring Mr Black through to the chambers?"

Arthur nodded, and Sirius turned to the group that were heading towards him.

He sauntered over to the group. "Remus, I'm free?" He croaked, grinning.

Remus threw his arms around Sirius as tears streaked down his face. Sirius quickly tried to brush his own away, but they wouldn't stop. They slowly pulled back. "So how did you work it out?"

Remus shook his head. "It wasn't me, it was them." He said, softly. "We'll explain later."

He turned to the rest of the group, offering a smile to Ginny, Hermione and Molly, before his eyes landed on Hope and John.

"Hope, looking as beautiful as ever, you haven't got tired of John yet?" he croaked, winking at Remus' mother who laughed. "Sirius, I love that you're still the same charming boy as you were," Hope said, throwing her arms around him. "But you're so skinny, we need to feed you up, get you back on track."

He reached out to shake John's hand, and John pulled him into a hug. "We never doubted you," John told him.

Dumbledore led them to a room that led off from the chambers. The room had a few sofas, like a waiting room, and a bathroom leading off. On one of the chairs sat a bundle of clothes, and a set of toiletries.

Hermione and Ginny were last in, and they hesitated by the door, wondering if they were intruding, but Remus noticed, and gestured for them to come inside.

Sirius' gaze met the girls, and a smirk crossed his lips. "Ladies," he murmured in a sexy tone. They both smiled back at him, as he looked around the group.

"Well, this came as a shock. What happened, did Peter make the mistake of revealing himself?"

"No, it's complicated. I was at Hogwarts yesterday, in a meeting with Professor Dumbledore, and I saw the mirror light up. This being the Mirror of Erised. To cut it short, I pulled these two girls through the mirror, and they need our help. They come from another world, but it's set in our future, so they knew all about you and Peter."

Sirius took a moment to process the words. "So, they know us in the future, and they knew the truth, so used it to save me?"

They all nodded.

"Brilliant, I owe you both a debt," Sirius said, with a genuine smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I see a room with a shower," he said, walking into the other room, after grabbing the package of clothes and toiletries.

An hour later, he left the room, all clean and wearing normal clothes, rather than prison clothes, and sat down on the chair.

"So, are we going to do this here, or somewhere else?" He asked, his gaze lingering on the girls and the Weasley's, uncertainly.

"I think it would be best to wait until we return to Hogwarts. Ladies, I have explained your situation to the Minister, I neglected to tell him certain things, as you can understand. You'll be registered with a different date of birth, a spell will be used to determine your exact age down to the day, and your date of birth will be decided accordingly. Would you like to keep your current names?"

They both nodded.

"Very well. Shall we vacate this room and return to Hogwarts, girls, you have potions that you need to take, Poppy insisted you return straight after the trial. Molly, Arthur, you and your boys are all welcome for dinner at the castle."

The couple smiled, congratulated Sirius, hugged the girls and said their goodbyes, and hurried home to their children, as a Ministry worker came back into the room with some paperwork, which he handed to Sirius. As Sirius tried to fill it in, John noticed his hand shaking too much, and took over filling it in, only giving it back to Sirius for a signature on the pages.

"So ladies," Sirius said, putting an arm over each of their shoulders. "Choose your reward. I warn you now, no fighting over me, there's enough of me to go around.

Remus tried to hold the smile on his face, which threatened to drop into a frown. Any attraction he felt towards Hermione was nothing, because whenever Sirius flashed that smile on a girl in the past, they just ran to him. He wouldn't have a chance if Sirius set his sights on Hermione.

"I need your help," Ginny said. "The mirror brought us through, but our stay here isn't permanent, unless we have an anchor. The mirror showed us who that person would be."

"Let me guess, it was me?" He asked, and she nodded, trying not to blush.

"What do I have to do? Is there shagging involved?" He asked, leering at both of them. Hermione didn't look impressed.

"No, Dumbledore just said we have to be around the person we each saw in the mirror, and it'll work," Hermione replied.

"So, who did you see, Kitten?"

"It was Remus," she said, finding herself blushing slightly, as Ginny had.

He looked at Remus with delight, "Remus, you dog you!" He exclaimed happily.

Remus looked away and Sirius' frowned slightly.

"You're so different, he said, softly. Have the last few years been that hard?"

Remus met his gaze and Sirius found his answers. "Well we'll work this out, the last two Marauders. We'll look out for each other, Moony."

Remus' eyes flickered to Sirius' arm over Hermione, and a slight frown crossed his face, which he quickly tried to hide. Sirius was used to his attempts to keep his emotions hidden, and with a grin, he dropped his arm from Hermione's shoulder. It wasn't often that Remus would show interest in a girl, and Sirius wasn't the sort to try it on with a girl that Remus liked. Plus, he had already decided he wanted to get to know the redhead better.

He looked at Hermione. "What about you? What do you want? Name anything."

Hermione shrugged. "Well, we don't know anyone, so it'd be nice to be friends?"

Sirius winked at her. "Done, Kitten. Of course I'd want to be friends with the girl's who helped gain my freedom."

He tightened his hold on Ginny, who smiled up at him.

"So ladies, I'm a free man. Where can we go first?"

"Hogwarts, we're still recovering, plus I have some potions that need sorting. You'll hear the whole story, and we can make arrangements from there?" Hermione suggested, and Sirius nodded.

**...oOo...**

Dumbledore led the way from the room, with the rest following and twenty minutes later, the girls were registered in the Wizarding world.

"So, Moony, who did you leave Harry with when you came here?" Sirius asked.

"Sirius, they wouldn't let me keep him," Remus said, softly.

Sirius' arm slipped from Ginny's shoulders.

"Wait, I thought... why not?" He said, looking upset.

"Because Lily invoked some old magic, and even if that wasn't the case, I'm a Werewolf, I'm deemed unsafe."

Sirius' eyes slid to Hermione, but she seemed unfazed by the revelation. She must have already known about Remus' condition. She seemed alright with it, which Sirius was relieved by.

"But, who... who has him?" Sirius asked.

"Lily's sister," Ginny said, and Hermione pursed her lips.

"We'll sort that out, I promise," Hermione said, as Sirius let out a frustrated noise. Clearly he had met Lily's sister.

They walked through the main area of the Ministry, and Cameras started flashing. Remus tried to drop back, but Sirius clutched his arm.

"Yes, it's true. Sirius Black is back, and it's all thanks to my friends here," he said. It's just amazing to know that no matter what, Remus Lupin, my best friend, never gave up on me."

He grinned at the people taking his photos, before following Dumbledore who looked on, amused.

**...oOo...**

As they reached the castle, Minerva McGonagall came rushing up.

"Minnie," he said, happily, and was shocked when she threw her arms around him.

"Sirius Black, you have caused most of these grey hairs," she scolded him, letting him go. "I am glad that you are free, I knew Remus was correct."

"I knew you loved me, Minnie," he grinned and winked at her. She rolled her eyes, but smiled warmly at him.

A few minutes later, the Mirror had been explained in full to Sirius, Dumbledore also explained about securing the girls to the world, so they wouldn't fade back.

Sirius frowned for a moment.

"Okay, so the words opened, but if the mirror shows you what you desire, there must have been something here that the girls desired, and something that Remus did, otherwise Sir, you would have seen the light in the mirror too?"

"We believe, since Remus was here, trying to work out what happened to you, at that moment his biggest desire was to find your freedom, and we were the key to that... and for us, it was freedom, to escape from Voldemort."

Sirius' eyes widened. "But, I thought he was gone?"

Hermione shook her head. "We're going to show you both and the Order in the pensive what happened, but he's not truly gone. In the future everyone is dead, we're the only ones left. It'd be easier to go into detail when everyone is here," She told him, and Sirius stared at her in shock.

"Now, I'm going to go and check on our potions. Remus, would you please come and remove the wards if it's not too much trouble?" She said, and the pair left the room, and Sirius disappeared to roam the castle and stretch his legs. Ginny headed up to the hospital wing.

**...oOo...**

A couple of hours later, Ginny was joined by Sirius and Hermione. Remus came to sit with them. The girls were given a large amount of potions, and Madam Pomfrey pushed Sirius to a bed. "You too, Sirius, I need to check you over and heal you."

As she drew the curtains around the girls beds, Sirius heard her voice.

"Now, I think some of the scars have faded slightly. I can give you something to apply and it'll remove them, but it will take a few months, the ones done with a cursed blade, however -"

"Will remain, "Hermione finished. "I know, I had one of them for a few months before I got captured, and I couldn't get rid of that, so assumed the others would be the same."

"I can suggest a very strong glamour charm, if you want to learn?" Madam Pomfrey offered.

"I think I'm alright. I'm not ashamed of my blood status. A scar is just a scar," Hermione replied. "I can cover it with sleeves, and if someone does happen to see it, well, it's their problem if they don't like it, not mine."

It wasn't long before Sirus found potions being poured down his throat.

"I expect you all to stay here tonight. Mr Lupin, is there any point me trying to send you away for the night?"

He quickly shook his head, and Madame Pomfrey gestured towards an empty bed next to Sirius', facing Hermione. "You may as well go home and get some bedclothes, you can sleep in that bed tonight.

"Thank you," he said, heading to find his parents, and explaining that he was going to stay at the castle. He helped escort his mother home, and returned soon after.

He walked into the hospital wing, and drew the curtains to change, before heading over to Hermione and Ginny.

"I just wanted to say, thank you," he said, softly, his gaze flicking between the both of them.

Hermione smiled softly at him. "I did tell you that I'd do anything to help you," she replied. "Me and Ginny are going to make sure that your life goes better this time around."

He smiled, and placed a few books on the table between them. "I didn't know if either of you liked to read, I brought them just in case..." he said, biting his lip.

He was happy when Hermione's face lit up and she reached for the books, excitedly. "Thank you, Remus," she said, scanning the titles.

"Hermione used to live in the library," Ginny laughed from the next bed.

"Didn't you?" Sirius said, perching on the end of Ginny's bed.

She shook her head. "Nope, I preferred to play Quidditch," she told him and he grinned.

"Sirius Black, back to your bed," Madame Pomfrey said, bustling back into the room.

"Just like being a kid again," he snorted, as he winked at Ginny, smiled at Hermione and Remus, and returned to his bed.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry if it's no good, I struggled with this chapter.<strong>

**Please review**

**Let me know what you think. What you like, and what you don't like, and what you would like to see.**


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